We live in a fast paced world. Our time is filled with work, or family,
or other activities—and that doesn’t always leave a lot of time for the finer
things, like sitting back at a table in your favorite restaurant and enjoying a
leisurely lunch. Compared to their
fellow workers around the world, Americans do not leave themselves a lot of
time for anything else. Getting an hour
for lunch can be seen as a luxury to many.

So with the knowledge that time is important, many restaurants around
the nation have begun offering up lunch service and menu offerings that
capitalize on being fast and efficient. You can watch their commercials touting fast lunch service and fast to-go
service; anything to get their working customers fed and back to their jobs in
a timely manner.

Slow service at lunch will not endear an establishment to that customer,
and it will likely drive them away. And worse, they can very easily tell their
friends, family members, coworkers—and with the advent of websites and apps
like Yelp, the whole world–of their experience. So what are some ways restaurants can help
with ensuring their clientele has a fast, yet still good, experience?

What’s for lunch?
When you only have a short amount of time for lunch, figuring out what
you want, and where to go, becomes very important. Restaurants that are known for offering a
quick lunch service to their business-class patrons have a better chance at
appearing higher on that list.

When presented with an option that cannot guarantee fast service, even
if it is a popular restaurant, compared to that with another one that is close
by, and has a guaranteed fast service for lunch, working patrons will generally
go for the option that is not going to have them explaining to their boss why
they are late returning. With that goal
in mind, some restaurants, a good example would be the Chili’s chain, offer up
a special lunchtime menu with offerings that do not have a lot of prep time,
and often are priced at a lower cost. That combination of lower cost, and fast serving time makes a lunch at
that restaurant an attractive idea to the working customer who still wants to
sit down and relax a bit.

To add to
their fast service, Chili’s and another chain, Genghis Grill, have a service at
their table that adds to the speed of the overall experience. With a small device that looks like the
popular tablets you see around, you can view the menu, order, and even pay for
your bill without having to wait for your waiter or waitress to come to your bar
table. When you combine all of those
features together, you have the potential to have your busy customers in and
out in record time. With that time, they
can then go back to work full, content and happy, and without having to explain
to their boss why they are late coming back to work.